Moroccan Christmas
"Moroccan Christmas" is the third Christmas episode of the television series The Office, aired in the show's fifth season. Synopsis Phyllis (Phyllis Smith) throws a Moroccan-themed Christmas party, her first Christmas party as head of the Party Planning Committee. Alcohol is served at the party, of which Meredith (Kate Flannery) takes full advantage—she gets so intoxicated that she accidentally sets her hair on fire while she is dancing around. Dwight (Rainn Wilson) puts out the fire with an extinguisher and the party comes to a halt. Michael (Steve Carell) then stages an intervention by gathering everyone in a circle to discuss how Meredith's alcoholism affects them. When Meredith continues to deny her alcoholism, the rest of the office find it best to go back to the party. Michael then talks with Meredith in his office before leaving the building. Meredith is told by Michael that they are going to a bar, but he actually takes her to a rehabilitation center. When Meredith sees this, she tries to escape, but Michael grabs her and drags her into the center. However, Michael learns that the staff will not check anyone in against their will, so he and Meredith leave and head back to the office. Dwight has been performing research to determine what will be the most popular toy of the current Christmas season: a doll named "Princess Unicorn"2, which is (as the name implies) a princess with a unicorn horn on its head. Dwight has bought every doll he could find in the local toy stores and explains he is going to sell the dolls to desperate parents for an enormous profit. Jim (John Krasinski) is skeptical that people would pay a high price for a doll, but he watches numerous customers come in throughout the day to purchase a doll from Dwight, all paying his asking price of $200. Toby (Paul Lieberstein) wants to buy a doll for his daughter, Sasha, so he can be the hero this Christmas, which would irritate his ex-wife. When he goes to Dwight to purchase one, he finds that Darryl (Craig Robinson) has already purchased the last one. Toby begs Darryl to the verge of tears, and Darryl offers to sell it to him for twice the price. Toby tells him that he does not have the money with him, but Darryl allows him to pay him back later, and Toby becomes visibly happy. He is, however, slightly shocked when the doll he gets from Darryl is a black version of the doll, but he decides not to complain. Throughout the day, Phyllis continues to order Angela (Angela Kinsey) to do various tasks for the party, such as preparing a plate of bread and hummus during Michael's intervention, or putting away her Nativity scene and removing the Christmas tree (as neither of those are in the theme of Moroccan Christmas). When Phyllis tells Angela to bring back the Christmas tree after Michael and Meredith leave, Angela refuses, telling Phyllis that she will no longer fulfill Phyllis' demands. Phyllis threatens to inform everyone of Angela's affair with Dwight, but Angela still refuses, as Phyllis would no longer be head of the Party Planning Committee if she did. As Phyllis despondently heads toward the door, she suddenly turns around and announces to the office that Angela is having an affair with Dwight, much to everyone's shock. Angela is visibly upset while Dwight is visibly amused. Pam (Jenna Fischer) claims that she knew it all along, which Jim initially doubts, but then decides to believe her in the spirit of Christmas. Andy (Ed Helms), however, was absent for Phyllis' announcement, having been in the annex teaching himself to play a sitar. At the end of the episode, he returns to the party to play "Deck the Halls" for Angela on the sitar, before she asks him to take her home. The rest of the office decide not to reveal Phyllis' secret to Andy. Availability The episode was included on The Office: Season 5 DVD set in 2009. It is also available on iTunes. See also *"Christmas Party" *"A Benihana Christmas" *"Secret Santa" *"Classy Christmas" *"Christmas Wishes" *"Dwight Christmas" External links * The Office Wiki: Moroccan Christmas Category:Episodes Category:2008 releases Category:Originally aired on NBC Category:Universal Studios